Shelly Sterling and V. Stiviano’s lawyers make their case on who should hear lawsuit

Gifts that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, third from right, gave to V. Stiviano, left, are the subject of a lawsuit filed against Stiviano by Sterling’s wife. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)

LOS ANGELES — A civil court judge today asked for written briefs from attorneys on whether he or a family law jurist should hear a lawsuit filed by the wife of Clippers owner Donald Sterling against a woman she alleges induced her husband into a sexual affair and convinced him to give her millions of dollars in cash and property.

The woman — V. Stiviano — more recently gained fame with the release of recorded conversations between her and Sterling, in which the Clippers owner disparages her for having photos taken with black people and tells her not to bring them to games.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Fruin initially issued a tentative ruling directing attorneys for Shelly Sterling and V. Stiviano to take the case to the Superior Court’s civil presiding judge for a determination of who should hear the case because of potential community property issues involved.

However, after hearing arguments, Fruin ordered instead that papers be submitted from both sides in advance of another hearing July 31. Attorneys for Shelly Sterling and Stiviano both said they prefer to have Fruin hear the case.

Fruin said that given today’s developments, it would be premature for him to rule on a motion by Stiviano’s attorney, Mac Nehoray, to dismiss the lawsuit. Nehoray maintains the 10 allegations raised by Shelly Sterling’s suit are short on details.

Shelly Sterling’s lawsuit describes Stiviano as a woman who “engages in conduct designed to target, befriend, seduce and then ... receives as gifts transfers of wealth from older men whom she targets for such purposes.”

Stiviano has several aliases, including Vanessa Perez, Monica Gallegos and Maria Valdez, the suit states. She met Sterling at the February 2010 Super Bowl and that year began a sexual relationship with him, the suit states.

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The suit asks for a return of all cash, land, expensive cars and other items that under law are the community property of the Sterlings.

Nehoray questioned why the Sterling family trust should be a party to the lawsuit. However, Shelly Sterling’s lawyer, Amy Rice, said the spouse who does not consent to the transfers of the property is the proper person to bring the case.

Nehoray said after today’s hearing that Donald Sterling was a co-trustee and that he had a right to do what he wanted with the property.

Nehoray said he wants to keep the lawsuit in civil court because family law cases do not have juries. However, he said the case could be affected if one of the Sterlings files for divorce. His client, like Shelly Sterling, was not present for today’s hearing, but he said Stiviano is “doing well.”

In interviews following the release of the Donald Sterling recordings — which earned him a lifetime ban from the NBA and led to a dispute over the proposed $2 billion sale of the Clippers — Stiviano denied having a sexual relationship with Sterling. Sterling, however, has described his comments on the tapes as being the result of a heated exchange during a “lovers’ quarrel.”